Weekly technical threads, no fuss.
This week's profile search term: Turbine
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The VHTR is the hottest of the new Generation IV reactor designs, and has unique capabilities.
In this thread we'll cover:
In this thread we'll cover all the major storage techniques and what they're good for. Be warned: There is NO perfect method.
We've all noticed it, the howling of wires in a gale. We may also have noticed eddies in streams or pondered why some chimneys have spiral fluting.
A conventional helicopter is great at hover & low speed manoeuvre but has an implicit speed limit: As the helicopter accelerates the advancing blade's airspeed gets higher until it approaches the speed of sound and the retreating blade's airspeed gets lower until it stalls. 
This will be a primer on space launch rocket engines and will cover the basics of:
Russia pioneered the use of lead cooled reactors in the 70s & 80s, with the November & Alfa class submarine reactors making use of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE ) coolant. The high thermal conductivity and low pressure allowed for a smaller, lighter, high power density reactor. 
Rotating labyrinth seals are used to contain oil and keep high & low pressure (and temperature) zones separate.
The principle behind the colossal engineering challenge of a reusable spaceplane is a twofold cost reduction: Firstly, rapid reusability. Second, fuel efficiency.
The speed of sound is the maximum speed that a pressure wave or vibration can pass through a substance. It varies with material & temperature.
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In this thread we'll go over:
2) Single flash steam power. 
In the 19th century, light was bought with the death of whales.
In some regions, tidal 'races' exist where geography channels the tides into strong flows, powerful enough for a turbine to extract energy directly. 
A high pressure turbine blade rotates so fast at peak power that the centrifugal force on a single blade is equivalent to hanging multiple London buses off the end. It also generates 1000 horsepower all by itself. 
Last week I discussed the revolutionary thick section EB weld project headed by Sheffield Forgemasters, but that was just one project of several in the UK government's Advanced Manufacturing Materials competition, many of which involve the Nuclear AMRC. 
What is Electron Beam Welding (EBW)?
The world's hardest engineering challenge.
Fracking is an old technique, frequently used for increasing production from worked-out oil wells, but has found new application in unlocking natural gas from tightly-held geology such as shale.
Einar Enervoldson was a jet pilot & a glider pilot who in his youth contributed to the Sierra Project, performing the first scientific study on mountain atmospheric waves: Vast waves caused by powerful winds rising over mountains.